Internet Research

Hypertext markup language (HTML)

a coded format language used to create and control the appearance of documents on the web

Corporate author

a committee, association, or group credited with creating a work such as a web page

Spider

a computer program that scans or crawls the web to index web pages. The spider-created index is searched when you query a search engine

Mailing list

a form of interactive internet communication which allows e-mailing messages to all other members of a list automatically

Newsgroup

a form of interactive internet communication which serves as a virtual bulletin board where messages on thousands of topics are posted daily

Favorites

a function of the Internet Explorer that allows for easy storage, organization, and revising of web pages

Bookmarks

a function of the Netscape browser that allows for easy storage, organization, and revisiting of web pages. Also called favorites in Internet Explorer

Portal

a large web gateway providing access to huge amounts of information it often includes search engines, news, shopping, e-mail, chat. A portal that focuses on one topic or industry is called a vertical portal or a vortal

Boolean logic

a logic system based on simple algebra which defines how Boolean operators manipulate sets of data

Subscription address

a mailing list address to which messages requesting e-mail addresses be added or dropped from a list are sent

Algorithm

a mathematical formula used by a search engine to rank each web site returned in search results according to the terms used in the search query

Dewey decimal system

a numeric subject classification system used in many libraries

Search filter

a program used by search tools usually from advanced search pages to specifically include or exclude web pages according to criteria such as language, file format, date, and domain. Whenever a filter is used results are limited, with every additional filter used the results are limited further

Hierarchy

a ranked order. Hierarchies commonly used in internet subject guides include topical, alphabetical, and geographical

Specialized search engine

a search engine that limits the web pages it indexes by subject. A specialized search engine often combines the power of Boolean searching with the focus of a subject guide

Complex query

a search query that uses Boolean operators to define the relationships between keywords and phrases in a way that search tools can interpret

Subject guide

a search tool that hierarchically arranges links to web pages. The links are evaluated and annotated by people usually subject specialists or librarians as opposed to spiders

Metasearch engine

a search tool that searches the indexes of multiple search engines simultaneously

Search engine

a search tool, usually indexed by spiders that locates web pages containing the keywords entered in a search form

Intelligent search agent

a software program that automatically retrieves information stored on multiple databases and aids in accessing information on the invisible web. Also called a search bot

Listserv

a software program that supports interactive internet communication such as

Periodical database

a specialized database that contains the full text of articles from periodicals such as newspapers or magazines

Citation format

a style guide that standardizes references to resources like books, magazine articles, and web pages

Thread

a sub-topic of newsgroup postings, a discussion starts with one posting, subsequent postings in response to it, no matter how many there are considered one thread

Internet

a vast global network of interconnected networks that allows you to find and connect to information on the web

Trailblazer page

a web page that links to numerous sites covering all aspects of a topic

Specialized search tool

a web site that provides access to data stored in online databases that require direct access making traditional search engines and most subject guides inef

Phrase searching

forcing the search tool to search only for pages containing a phrase or 2 or more words together in a certain order. Typically quotation marks are used around the words to indicate that they should be searched as a phrase

Search query

keywords, phrases, and/or Boolean operators entered into a search form that the search tool uses to search its index

Dynamically generated web pages

pages generated by a database in response to a specific query. One kind of page found in the invisible web

Subscription

payment made to the owner or distributor of digital information for online access for a specified period of time usually a year

Synonyms

words that have similar meanings, in an online search synonyms are normally used to expand a search, usually connected by the Boolean operator OR

AND

Boolean operator that connects keywords in a search query. AND narrows a search and decreases the number of search results because each keyword connected with AND must be on a web page for it to be included in the results. Every additional keyword connected to a search by AND further narrows the search.

AND NOT

Boolean operator that connects keywords in a search query. Using AND NOT narrows a search and decreases the number of search results because each word must not be on a web page for it to be included in the results. Every additional keyword connected to a search by AND NOT further narrows the search.

OR

Boolean operator that connects keywords in a search query. Using OR broadens or expands a search and increases the number of search results because any of the words can be on a web page for it to be included in the results

Keyword

an important word that describes a major concept of your search topic

Mnemonic

assisting or aiding memory, many URL's are mnemonic to make them easier to remember

Drilling down

clicking through subject headings to reach relevant links, typically the subject topics are arranged from the more general to the more specific

Boolean operators

command words such as AND, OR, and AND NOT that narrow, expand, or restrict a search based on Boolean logic

Stop words

common words such as A, AND, THE, FOR, and OF that are not normally searched by search tools

Cached page

copy of a web page that resides on a search engine's computer

Venn diagrams

drawings, typically comprised of interacting circles used to illustrate Boolean logic or searches using Boolean operators

Syntax

rules of a language like grammar that standardize usage, in computer searching syntax governs the form queries must take to instruct a search tool to perform a certain function

Internet search tools

services which help locate information on the web and the internet including search engines, metasearch engines, subject guides, specialized search tools, and intelligent search agents

Evaluative criteria

standards used to determine if a web site is appropriate for your needs. These standards usually include considerations of organization, authority, objectivity, accuracy, scope, and currency

Distributed subject guide

subject guide created by a variety of editors working somewhat independently and usually stored on numerous computers around the country or the world. Like a regular subject guide it hierarchically arranges links to web pages based on topics and sub-topics.

Annotation

summary or review of a web page usually written by experts

Default operator

the Boolean operator that a search engine automatically uses in a query, whether typed as part of the query or not

Union

the combination of two sets of Venn diagrams, results from the use of the Boolean OR

Domain

the last 2 or 3 letters of a URL. URL's from the US typically end in 3 letters indicating the type of site such as .gov .edu URL's from other countries typically end in 2 letters indicating the country of origin such as .ca .uk

List address

the mailing list address to which correspondence is sent

Web page

the most common type of document on the World Wide Web, most results from search engines and subject guides are web pages which are usually written in HTML and have file extensions of .htm or .html, the non HTML type documents like .xls or .doc are better accessed with intelligent search engines because they are usually part of the invisible web

Invisible web

the part of the web inaccessible to search engine spiders. It consists of information housed in databases, as well as much of the web's data in .pdf .doc and other non-HTML file formats. Also known as the deep web. The invisible web is many times larger than the visible web. A small part of the invisible web can be accessed with intelligent search agents

Search form

the place where a user enters a search query at a search tool

Intersection

the place where two sets overlap in a Venn diagram, results from the use of the Boolean AND

Visible web

the portion of the web that is indexed by search engine spiders, also may refer to parts of the web that while not crawled by spiders are indexed by subject guides

Netiquette

the protocol and common rules of courtesy used by people on the internet particularly in discussion groups or newsgroups

Scope

the range of topics covered by a web site, the scope of a site may be narrow covering a smaller range of topics or broad covering a wider range of topics

Set

the term used for a group in Boolean logic, in a Venn diagram a set is commonly represented as a circle

Parentheses

used around 2 or more keywords combined with Boolean operators parentheses force the order of operation of a search query by indicating that the part of the search inside the parentheses should be performed first

Quotation marks

used around 2 or more keywords in a search form, quotation marks indicate to most search tools that the words should be searched as a phrase

Minus sign

used by many search tools as a symbol for the Boolean AND NOT

Plus sign

used by many search tools to indicate the Boolean AND since AND is the default operator for most search tools it is usually unnecessary to enter it in your search query

Forcing the order of operation

using parentheses in a complex query to force the search tool to look at the words inside the parentheses first which can greatly affect search results. If not forced search tools typically search keywords from left to right